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Betty for schools reaches half a million pupils in first year of period education
Over the last year a free PSHE accredited period education resource hub from betty has been helping girls and boys learn about periods in an open and engaging way.
betty for schools, the period education programme, is celebrating its first birthday and a wave of success across schools in the UK by returning to the Education Show in Birmingham after launching the programme there in March 2017.
The success of the programme, which is designed to highlight both the emotional and physical aspects of period education, marks a significant first year for betty for schools. Nearly half a million pupils aged between 8-12 have experienced both the workshops and resources, contributing towards the goal of creating a generation of girls and boys who are comfortable and confident in talking about periods.
The betty bus used by facilitators to support and enhance learning, visited a total of 210 schools across the UK reaching approximately 17,000 pupils, and the PSHE accredited online teaching resources were downloaded over 60,000 times and shared with over 500,000 pupils. The combined efforts of both the programme’s workshops and resources resulted in reaching over half a million pupils and 3,700 schools in the UK.
The resources are suitable for PSHE lessons and are fully accredited by the PSHE Association’s Quality Assurance Mark. Film-led, with a mix of animations, quizzes and interactive activities, they have been created with education experts and young people, to empower teachers to deliver sessions with confidence.
Research commissioned by the betty team after the first year of school visits found that after a betty for schools workshop, 69%[1] of girls said they felt less scared or worried about starting their period, and 81%[2] of boys stated that they felt they knew how to support someone if they were feeling unwell or emotional due to their period.
The betty for schools programme plans to build on the year’s successes and look to 2018 as a year for change, with a focus on elevating period education to the forefront of PSHE education and the curriculum, with the aim of reaching every boy and girl aged 8-12 in the UK.
With period poverty dominating current conversations, and many schools ill- equipped with the resources they need to teach period education, betty for schools is tackling the issue by donating 40,000 pieces of femcare to the most deprived schools in the UK. The team will also bring period education to more schools for another year, with 900 schools currently on the waiting list for a visit from the betty bus. betty for schools is also currently offering free sample packs of betty pads to schools on request.
Jade Dimelow, Secondary teacher at Garth Hill College in Berkshire commented: “The betty for schools resources are a clear and well organised way to teach period education to both boys and girls. The well-designed activities and accompanying videos can help anyone teach what can be considered as a difficult subject to approach.
“I personally found the involvement of boys in their own session really refreshing. Traditionally, it has been seen as a topic only girls need know about, but giving boys this knowledge has demonstrated how mature and understanding they can be towards the changes their female peers face.”
Becky Hipkiss, Education Manager at betty for schools comments: “It’s been an amazing first year, we knew that the bus and resources were a step in the right direction but the success has exceeded any expectations we had.
“We’re all very excited to see where this takes us, and are looking forward to pushing period education to the forefront of the curriculum in 2018, and working with the teachers and more schools to give this important issue a larger platform, in addition to helping tackle period poverty.
“We know that there is still a huge amount more to do if we want the topic of periods to be totally normalised for the next generation, but the feedback we’ve received has proven to us that the appetite exists!”
As well as creating significant impact across schools for period education, the programme also won a host of awards including an EVCOM award for the social videos, three EVCOM Clarion awards for the betty workshops and has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Free Education Resources category at Education Resources Awards which are taking place on Friday 16th March.
The betty for schools team will return to the Education Show at the NEC, Birmingham and will be available on Thursday 15th March, Friday 16th March and Saturday 17th March for interviews to share the year’s successes and plans for 2018.
To order your free sample pack or to download the betty for schools PSHE accredited free teaching resources, go to: www.bettyforschools.co.uk